Library hosts antique bottles collection

The Antique Bottle Collectors of Colorado, represented by Sam Thatcher, brought its traveling collection to the Woodruff Memorial Library this month.

Bette McFarrenbmcfarren@ljtdmail.com

The Antique Bottle Collectors of Colorado, represented by Sam Thatcher, brought its traveling collection to the Woodruff Memorial Library this month. Heather Maes, the genealogy specialist and one of the antiques enthusiasts at the library, said that Sam Thatcher is on a quest to discover more about the Pink Panther Bottling Company, once located between first and second on Cimarron in La Junta. It was in a building called Wiswell's, which later bottled NeHi soda, said Maes.

The collection also displays a beautiful milk bottle from Cranson's Dairy, adorned by morning glories and displaying the motto: "La Junta, a bloomin' good town." Cranson's was still delivering milk in 1972, when the reporter's family moved to La Junta. Such service was unknown most other places even at that time. Maes was not born until 1976.Curious about the milk bottle, the Tribune called Mary Cranson, wife of Cal Cranson, whose Golden Rule Dairy was the deliverer of milk in the '70's. Mary said the company delivered milk until the late '70's and the dairy was still going until 1995. Mary and Cal were married in 1946, and Grandpa Nathan Walter Cranson had been in business delivering milk for a long time even then.

He had raised chickens until the 1917 flood, when the chickens were fooled by the straw floating by, jumped in and drowned. He kept the cows, though.She gave the Tribune the real lowdown on Wiswell's. It was initially a creamery. Mary's familiy, the Russells, took three-gallon cans of cream there, one price for sweet cream, another price for sour cream. "A lot of people milked cows then," said Mary, "and they took their extra cream to Wiswell's." Wiswell's made butter, ice cream, malts and milkshakes. She didn't know about it being turned into a bottling place for Pink Poodle.She did have a good story about the motto on the milk bottle, though. In the 1930's, Grandpa Nathan Walter Cranson and Winston Gardner, the Dodge Dealer, thought up the "Bloomin' Good Town" motto and distributed morning glory seeds to all their customers.

Selling La Junta seems to be a tradition. Sam Thatcher would like to talk to anyone who remembers the history of the bottles. He may be contacted at 303.444.4389, and he will be back at the end of the month to collect the bottles.

Don't forget the Woodruff Memorial Library Reception on March 14 at 4 p.m. The bottles are in the case in the vestibule.